Uptown Ciclovía Offers Cyclists a Chance to Ride, Eat and Celebrate without Fear of SUVs

Organizers of the first Uptown Ciclovía visited the popular Los Angeles version of the event for tips on how it's done.

Name the most walkable or bikeable city. GO!

No shocker if Dallas wasn't your first pick. At least not yet. We may be a veritable metropolis of sprawling-sprawl-McSprawl and super-sized suburbs, but we have efforts like The Better Block Project, the Dallas Bike Plan and other short-term events to create an outdoor community, including a new one, the inaugural Uptown Ciclovía this Monday

From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., a one-mile stretch of Cedar Springs Road will be de-automobiled to create a walkable, rollable, strollerable, rideable path connecting the Katy Trail to Klyde Warren Park. Joseph Pitchford, chairman of the Uptown Ciclovía Steering Committee (a group of 20 mostly volunteers) and board member of Uptown Dallas Inc., told us via email the idea for the event "first surfaced over two years ago" as a way to "commemorate the improvements along Cedar Springs Road in Uptown."

"Uptown is a beautiful, walkable neighborhood that offers something for everyone, so we were inspired to share that with all of Dallas," Pitchford said. 'We also think the idea of creating a better long-term connection between The Katy Trail and Klyde Warren Park is worth more exploration."

The steering committee visited Ciclovía events in San Antonio and Los Angeles for inspiration for Monday's event. While we're used to two-wheeling around the lake, walking to restaurants in Uptown, and pretending to jog along the Katy, we have to admit we aren't exactly sure what to expect from the Uptown Ciclovía. Pitchford tells us there will be "bicycles, tricycles, unicycles, rollerbladers, strollers, walkers, joggers, hikers, skateboarders, etc. ANY form of human powered transportation," and that's awesome, but here's our list of additional, fairly unfounded predictions mixed in with more actual knowledge from Pitchford himself:

Masses of people confused by adults with VDL (visible diaper line).
Let's head this one off well ahead of the pass: Some people will bike all the way to the event. Some of those people will be wearing cycling pants and shorts. They contain padding (also known as a chamois) which can add a bit of odd junk to the lower trunk. Ninety-nine percent of these people have not crapped their pants.

Lots of food options to eat and then walk off. And eat again.
There will be more than 20 restaurants (Crush Craft Thai Street Eats, Company Café, Lark on the Park, Katy Trail Ice House, to name a few) open along the Ciclovía route. And, there are the Klyde Warren food trucks. You've been warned. Barbecue Saturday; save room Sunday; eat Monday.

Sweating together in public. Unrelated to the human-powered transportation.
Pitchford tells of other planned activities and teaches us another cool word: There will be "'reclovias,' along the route: a rock climbing wall, chalk drawing and yoga." Seriously, people, no heels: This is an occasion when workout wear in public is totally fine. Sure it's in Uptown, but don't be the girl that wears her hair down to the gym, 'K?

Awesome people watching.
Of the more than 10,000 Pitchford says they hope to see at the event, we expect there will be people who have never explored Uptown before. Awe, we're talking. People doing random cartwheels (fingers crossed). Those happy to be outdoors, those hangry and indecisive on where to eat. Those sweating profusely and those who don't appear to sweat at all (hand both of those group some water). At least one dude on a unicycle and one couple on those really tall bikes. Everyone will want to know how both parties mounted their steeds. Children scampering without a care. Adults scampering. Celebrate this. Many people of all ages wandering and muttering, wondering where the hell they parked (there's actually several parking lots for the event, so check out the site).

Being asked by another attendee what ciclovía means.
It's Spanish. It means "cycleway" or "bicycle path."

Random costumes. Specifically, at least one green man/banana person/guy who may or may not be Guy Fieri.
Always a thing in a festival situation. Technically, the Guy Fieri may not be an intentional costume. No ... screw that, he's doing it on purpose.